Did you wish you had more brothers or sisters? Why?
I was so excited when I saw that this was the first question out of the journal jar! Why you ask?, because I absolutely love my brother and I love talking about him!
So here's the scoop on myself and my siblings:
My Mom is Joyce and my dad is Paul and they had me, then divorced. My mom then married Duane, who became my stepdad. My mom and Duane had my brother Jonathan Duane when I was 10, and this kid lights up my world.
My dad Paul married Patty and had my sister Shianne, she is 14 now. I also have a brother by my dad, his name is Cody and I haven't seen him since he was about a year old.
I have many step siblings by my parents. Duane, my stepdad has 2 other girls and a boy, and Paul has Christy and Kevin with Sherrie who is now and hopefully will forever be his wife. (I hope I'm not forgetting any of my step siblings, and if I am I am sorry)
Okay, so that's the scoop on my siblings and as horrible as it sounds I really do hope that I haven't forgotten anyone! My parents haven't made the best decisions in life, obviously and sometimes you get more babies than you mean to when you make those bad choices! Plus, my dad Paul and I have a strained relationship. We have managed to get closer in my adult years, but years of being apart has caused my relationship with both him and my sister to be less than minimal. I love my sister, but my relationship with her is pretty much text messaging and Facebook. I hope one day it can be better, but we will let it grow in its own time.
Now, the question was do you wish you had more brothers or sisters? I guess that could be interpreted in different ways so I will address both ways that I see the question.
1) I can see the question as being would I rather have more brothers or would I rather have more sisters.... Here is my answer: I have equal amounts of brothers to sisters. I hit the lottery in the sibling department because my siblings are great. They all have their lives pretty much on track, for the older ones and for the younger ones they seem to be doing well too. I couldn't have been more blessed to have the siblings that I have, and the fact that my first sibling is so amazing I definitely can't complain! I definitely wouldn't wish for more brothers over sisters or sisters over brothers. I think I got the perfect mix!
2) I can also see the question as asking have I ever wished for more brothers or sisters! That answer comes in the form of a story!
My mom and Duane started dating when I was three years old. He and his family fell in love with me, and I loved them all right back. By the time I turned four I was living with his parents, and his sister because I loved them so much that I just wanted to stay. It started "can I spend the night?" Eventually one night turned into two, then three, then three would turn into a week. Obviously weeks turned into months, and then years and honestly I am so glad that it ended up that way.
In May of 1988, my mom and Duane got married. From then on they were in trouble. I spent the majority of time playing alone or with my grown up aunt. We would spend time with other family members who had kids, but for the most part it was just me with all the adults. I decided I wanted a brother. I didn't want a sister, but if that was all I could get I would take that. For years I told them to get me a brother or sister, I begged and pleaded until one day when I was 10. Five years into their marriage they sat me down after school one day and told me that I was going to be a big sister. I ran to my room crying and told them that I did not want to be a big sister. Everyone was very confused, but eventually they talked to me and told me that it had to happen, and so it did in June of 1993.
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| He was maybe a year old here, and yes he is chewing on his shoe. At least now we know where he gets his love of music!l |
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| He really was precious, and he still is! |
June 12, 1993 was one of the best days of my life! I didn't realize it at the time, but it was a day that was going to change me. That was the day that my mom and dad gave me the best present ever in the form of a little boy they named Jonathan. Oh how I loved that little boy, and to this day I still do. I am just as proud today, if not more to have him as my brother. He was born with a little bit of hair that was blonde when it all finally came in, blue eyes and dimples the size of a small canyon! He was awesome, and I was so proud to have him. He is a little different now. He is tall and thin as a rail, his hair has turned dark and his eyes are brown. He still has those dimples though, and he still makes me just as proud today as he did back then. I love being 10 years older than my brother, I have gotten to watch him grow and become an amazing man. I was there crying the day he started school, and I have been there through many other wonderful times in his life.
My brother has also been there for me in some bad times, and in a lot of good times. He was there when Adriana was born. He was 7, but he loved her to pieces. He has always loved her just the same. He wasn't her biggest fan when she started walking though, she got into all his stuff. They both grew up though and now they love each other so very much!
This though, has been one of the proudest moments I have shared with my baby brother.
This though, has been one of the proudest moments I have shared with my baby brother. I had to be one of the smartest in my family, and I say this because I waited until I was 27 to get married. Now, if I was really smart I would have not got married at all, okay.... really I'm just kidding. I love my husband very much, and wouldn't trade my life for anyone elses! I really did wait til I was 27 though, and every day reminds me that it was worth the wait. Being able to have my brother by my side to give me away made an already wonderful day absolutely amazing! There was no way for me to make a decision between two dads, it was either one or the other OR both. As my grandmother and I discussed all the options and what I could do about my dilema, a light bulb came on. I knew there was no way I was getting married without my brother being in the wedding in some form or fashion, so I came up with the idea of him giving me away. After all, he really was the male who had the most impact on my life. Don't get me wrong, I love both of my dads, but as I said before, my parents haven't always made the best decisions so my "looking up to a father figure" unfortunately didn't fall on the head of either of them. It was my baby brother that had been the most impactual (my own word) in my life, and he was the one I wanted walking with me into the beginning of my next journey. When I told Mamaw about my plan, we cried together as she told me she thought that was the perfect plan. And it was, he made my day more special than I could have ever expected it to be.
He turned 18 in June, and I thought I would spend the day crying, but I didn't. I can't believe how time flies by, it just doesn't seem real that he should be 18 with a high school diploma but he is. I am so proud of the man he is becoming. He has such a level head and knows pretty much where he wants to be and what he wants to do in life. I am amazed everyday by the person he has grown up to be. I am so blessed to be his big sister, and I cherish it everyday.
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